[PP-F03] Library of Goetia I : Where One Fades In the Thicket

[Plini 0]

I have toiled for so long, longing for something
perhaps decadence wasn't enough
Blood ties aren't strong enough
So does friendship that withered like the flowers
Maybe, maybe a pair or a group of unlikely people
...can finish what I have uncovered.

 

"This is unacceptable! I cannot accept this outcome simply because these people wanted a higher reward. What could be greater than what my master has unearthed? are riches the only thing valuable in this world?" perhaps it was the booze doing the talk and it has already seeped in to her that is why she has lost all composure outside the city. "My master's health is not getting any better and she always wanted to finish what her husband has started and now it is up to me, the only one who remained by her side, their side to continue it. The manor needed to be tended too so I must entrust this task to what the people in the settlement call as 'players' and it turns out they're just in it for the reward" she continued to talk as a person beside her kept on drinking. He was simply there to check the are for materials that he can farm and now he's some kind of therapist to a woman in a knightly garb.

"I mean I'd do it for the reward too, it can be tiring to get from one place to...
"SILENCE! I will not permit some commoner to take my master's work as some kind of job to fill your purses"
"My purse is almost empty so filling it up seemed like a good thing"
"A mind filled with knowledge is better than purses and satchels filled with col"
"Ma'am this is a chest bag and a shield at the same time..."
"You talk too much commoner! perhaps you can be up to the task with all that strength you have to talk back to me, a knight and sword castellan of lady..."

The woman dropped face down, the boy quickly snatched the tankard away from her hands before she could fall down and hammer it on the ground with her lips. "Tch, now what? I hate this. My sisters, Orca, and now this woman. Why am I getting entangled with women who can easily assert dominance to me?" his thoughts press hard as he closed his inbox "boss must be somewhere joining a group for finding the next field boss, the best thing I could do is help Shirogane run the shop he built by giving her stuff to identify."

He stood up, scratching his temple "first I gotta put her somewhere safe."

 

 

[Watcher 0]

[                         ALERT: Update Complete                         ]

Hide contents notes | watcher doesn't care about stats. neither do i. Watcher | HP: 20/20 | EN: 20/20 | DMG: 4 | ACC: 2 equipped [marseilles.] 2HSS T1E2  |  ACCURACY II A black greatsword. Simple. Lighter than the typical model. Look no further; there is n̵o̷t̴h̶i̷n̴g̷ else to see here. item#2 item#3 battle-ready inventory item#1 skills Spoiler 01. 2H Straight Sword I data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== buffs data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== Spoiler     data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==

Lost in the forest. The player had awoken from another long slumber to a world changed, and now she stood in the corner of a glade with her sword drawn on one hand, squinting up at the break in the great trees’ canopy.

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here stood her memory of the entrance: a quaint stretch of a trail paved with flat stones, two posts marking its start. elves, untamed swaths of wildflowers blooming at the facades of every magical little cottage that one could see. this is the sub-settlement she hadn’t checked on in months.

But where her map read [Town of Flora], her surroundings didn’t possess even a shred of civilization.

An unpleasant feeling pooled in her gut -- not unlike the sinking sensation one had when they peered off the edge of a high-rise and imagined the fall. Alice disliked it, as much as any other ordinary person would shy away from something that gave them discomfort, but the thought of backing down was even more unpleasant. Turn a 180. Follow the path until you see the mist. Don’t enter, use it as a guide, she mentally retraced her steps, reconstructing the sights she had passed as best she could. Then you’ll be back to the teleport landing, where you can go home and sleep and try again another day. This was what could keep her sitting on that edge for hours, maybe inch even closer if she wanted, on top of her ego, and it was the simple thought that as long as her ability to find the way back still remained, she would always have the choice to.

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here was another memory of the [town of flora]: the other end of the trail, curving around the well beside the town library, continuing onward to… she hadn’t seen what for herself, she’d never checked. the map data, though, had the place marked as an abandoned church.

Everything had vanished into thin air, after all. Her lack of experience meant she could only hope to seek out more obvious clues. 

She left a mark on the nearest tree, a deep horizontal gash made with her sword, then another line parallel just to make it more prominent. A couple paces away -- she didn’t need to squint to distinguish it. Perfect. Her heavy blade dragged behind her feet as she spun around with a surety more demonstrated than felt, the landmark added to her growing list of directions.

[Plini 0]

Splash!

The armored woman flailed her hands as someone just splashed water on her face, like a rude awakening. "What in the-" she looked in front of her to see Plini tossing a bottle away. "You lack the manners needed to treat a woman right" she snarled at him as she stood up. It was weird for him to see someone drunk but then again she's an NPC, he only knew that players don't get drunk unless they're so vulnerable to the placebo effect.

"I did it to wake you up. What would you prefer? me carrying you on my back somewhere in this woods trying to find your manor or you guiding me to your master?" he told her. There was a faint glimmer in her eyes at what she heard but he needs to be tested with his intention. "Will you do it? we have the money or reward to compensate but-" Maria looked him in the eye "are you easily swayed by riches beyond your-" Plini waved his hand "oh come on, spare me the goody goody test. I'm here to help because I'm researching mats for my neurotoxins. I can't just remain here processing the same materials over and over again." Finally, Maria sighed, one filled with relief. He didn't look like he was lying, he seems like a genuine researcher.

Just as she was to confirm Plini accepting the request, Maria heard a sound. Someone hitting something in the forest, away from the path where they are standing. "An intruder? then I must put them down to avoid further trouble!"  she said. Plini placed his hand on her shoulder and shook his head "I hear it too, it doesn't sound like someone causing trouble. It sounded more of practice swings." Maria gave it a few seconds of thought and then took a deep breath before taking off to see what was the noise about.

A few minutes later...

Plini saw marks on the trees, as if it was a way to keep track of one' path "a wanderer? maybe if we follow this marking we'll get to the-" Maria was still talking when Plini began following the marks. Wherever this person was going he felt like he should stop it "it can be helpful and it can be exploited" he thought. A few more trees appeared with marks and finally he heard another sound as if something is being dragged. 

A woman...

Plini scratched his head as he saw her, marking the trees and the ground wounded by the sword that is being dragged "I'd suggest you stop that for now" he told her. He placed his hands in his pockets and gazed at her silver hair "she reminds me of Orca, minus the ara ara bullshit" he thought as he waited for her to stop swinging at the trees.

Maria (NPC)